The Weekly Daf #361
Sotah 18 - 24
Issue #361 Parshat Vayechi
Week of 13 - 19 Tevet 5761 / 8 - 14 January 2001
By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
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MORE THAN ONE WAY TO DRINK
The central act in the process of proving through Divine intervention
the guilt or innocence of a sotah (suspected adulteress) is her
drinking the special potion known as the "cursed waters."
The Torah three times (Bamidbar 5:24, 26, 27) directs that she must be
given this potion to drink, and the simple understanding is that she
drinks it from a cup. The Sage Rava poses an interesting question:
What if she drinks it by way of a siv -- is this considered a normal
way of drinking or not?
Rashi explains siv as a drinking straw formed from the bark of a palm
tree. The Aruch, however, writes that the siv bark served as a sort
of sponge to absorb the potion which was subsequently sucked out of
the siv by the sotah.
It may be that the Aruch departs from Rashi's approach because the
next question posed by Rava is whether drinking through a shfoferet
qualifies as normal drinking. The literal translation of this word is
"tube", so defining siv as a straw would make the two questions
identical. A solution to this problem facing Rashi is provided by
Tosefot Shantz who defines the shfoferet mentioned in Rava's second
question as only being similar to a straw, but really a sieve through
which the potion flows into the sotah's mouth.
According to either explanation of siv, the question is raised by
Tosefot as to why we do not resolve Rava's question on the basis of
what he himself says (Mesechta Pesachim 155b), that if one wraps a siv
around matzah on Pesach Eve and thus swallows it he has not fulfilled
the mitzvah of eating matzah. Just as siv around matzah is not
considered normal eating, so should drinking through siv not be
considered normal drinking.
Tosefot quickly dismisses the comparison by pointing out that in the
case of matzah, the siv bark forms a barrier between the matzah and
the food pipe and is therefore not considered normal eating. This is
not the case with the potion which enters the food pipe unobstructed
but through an unconventional channel.
* Sotah 18a
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CANDLE, DAWN AND CROSSROAD
"For the mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light." (Mishlei 6:23) This
is comparable, says the gemara, to the situation of a man walking
along a lonely road in total darkness. He is afraid of the thorns
which may cut him, the sword-like growths which may stab him and the
pits into which he is likely to fall. In addition he is in fear of
the wild beasts and bandits which lurk in the darkness and he is not
certain that he is walking in the right direction.
He comes upon a torch to light his way and is now able to avoid
thorns, sword-like growths and pits. But he is still in fear of
beasts and bandits and uncertain of his direction. When the light of
dawn appears he is safe from the beasts and bandits who slink back to
their lairs but he is still uncertain of where he is heading. Only
when he reaches a familiar crossroads is he finally free from all the
dangers which have threatened him.
Maharsha explains this parable in the following fashion:
Life in this world is compared to a journey through darkness. Man is
composed of body and soul. The body performs the mitzvot, while the
soul, which encompasses man's intelligence, is occupied with the
intellectual activity of Torah study. In man's physical existence
there are three major obstacles to security and perfection. Thorns
symbolize man's struggle against hunger as we find in the penalty of
human labor meted out to Adam. "Thorn and thistle will it [the earth]
sprout for you" (Bereishet 3:18). The sword-like growth represents
the sword of the enemy and the pits symbolize the sudden death of
sickness and accident. Performing mitzvot with our physical powers is
similar to the torch and the merit of these physical actions achieves
for us physical security.
But man is also threatened in regard to his spiritual security. The
evil inclination in man is like the beast within while the evil
influence of bad company is like the bandit outside. These spiritual
dangers can only be countered by the spiritual-intellectual force of
Torah study which is like the light of day.
What do the crossroads, which bring final security, represent? A
number of definitions are offered by the Sages. Rabbi Nachman bar
Yitzchak states that this means a Torah scholar with fear of sin.
Rashi explains that if one has achieved the self-discipline of fearing
sin after achieving Torah knowledge, he is safe from all dangers, for
Torah educates him in regard to his responsibilities and what is right
and wrong while self discipline restrains him from following his
passions. This is called finally knowing that one is heading in the
right direction.
* Sotah 21a
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